


suspended in the night sky

by Dienerys



Category: Mr. 钛戈 | Mr. TyGer (Band), UNINE (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Crushes, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Jealousy, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Jia Yi, Oblivious Lin Mo, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:28:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26833708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dienerys/pseuds/Dienerys
Summary: Jiayi doesn’t like the feeling he gets when he sees Hu Wenxuan hanging around Lin Mo or when he sees Lin Mo fussing over Hu Wenxuan.
Relationships: Hu Wenxuan/Li Xikan, Hu Wenxuan/Lin Mo, Huang Jiaxin | Jia Yi/Lin Mo, Mentioned Jin Fan/Zhan Yu
Kudos: 1





	suspended in the night sky

**Author's Note:**

> it grew from a hu wenxuan/lin mo and jiayi/wenhan fic i’m still working on but i remembered jiayi saying if he were to date any member of mr. tyger it would be lin mo and that wouldn’t leave my brain
> 
> anyway stan mr. tyger

Jiayi watches curiously as Lin Mo makes Hu Wenxuan finish the plate of vegetables.

The youngest Yuehua trainee acts annoyed, but Jiayi can see that he secretly enjoys being babied.

It’s weird watching his leader fuss over someone else like that and Jiayi doesn’t know how he feels about it.

He knows there’s been an odd distance between the members of Mr. Tyger after the first evaluation when they were all separated into different ranks. Even more so after the first stage.

He feels guilty and a bit lonely that he was the only one sent to B whereas Lin Mo and Zhen Nan were sent to C and Zhan Yu and Jin Fan were sent to D.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the others made new friends. Jiayi himself has grown very close to Li Wenhan in particular.

It’s after the phone call with parents when Jiayi first really notices an odd change with Lin Mo and Hu Wenxuan.

Lin Mo leaves the room the calls were filmed in, eyes puffy and cheeks red.

“Mo-ge...?”

“I’m okay, Jiaxin,” Lin Mo says tiredly and Jiayi blinks at the use of his birth name. “How are you?”

Jiayi shrugs. “It wasn’t so bad,” he says. And it wasn’t. His phone call wasn’t teary or dramatic, it had been lighthearted and funny. His grandma had teased him about the celebrities voting for him.

He knows Lin Mo’s parents weren’t the most enthusiastic about his situation and his age. He also knows Lin Mo usually called his parents every night before the show.

“You sure you’re okay?” Jiayi asks. Lin Mo smiles at him and Jiayi settles a bit. It’s a genuine smile that reaches his eyes.

“I just miss them,” Lin Mo ruffles Jiayi’s hair. “It’s hard. You know I used to call my mom every night and hearing her voice...”

Jiayi nods.

“I’m going to wash my face,” Lin Mo laughs, “don’t want inflamed eyes on camera”

“Okay, Mo-ge, rest well”

Lin Mo waves and walks off. Jiayi feels strangely adrift.

“Mo-ge,” he hears a soft voice.

“Xuanxuan,” Lin Mo says with a smile in his tone.

Jiayi peeks his head around the corner to see Wenxuan catch up to Lin Mo.

Lin Mo looks up at the younger trainee and Wenxuan pulls him into a hug.

“Xuanxuan...” he hears Lin Mo’s voice crack and Jiayi realizes his leader is crying and he realizes Lin Mo hadn’t told him the whole truth about how he was feeling.

Jiayi feels something uncomfortable curl in his stomach as Wenxuan runs his hand through Lin Mo’s fluffy hair and Lin Mo relaxes against the other trainee.

He watches them walk off down the hall together, feeling conflicted.

...

“Is it weird that I’m bothered by how close Mo-ge is with Hu Wenxuan?”

Li Wenhan shrugs, barely glancing up from the lyrics he’s memorizing while eating with the other hand. “Do you know why it bothers you?”

Jiayi shakes his head.

“It’s just weird seeing Mo-ge relying on someone like that, someone outside Mr. Tyger”

Wenhan sighs and finally looks up, running his hand through Jiayi’s hair and messing it up. Jiayi bares his teeth at Wenhan and receives a stupid face in response.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Wenhan says with affectionate amusement, “you might be worse than Xiao Zhan”

“Eh?”

“You didn’t hear Yibo whining about Xiao Zhan’s obliviousness,” Wenhan flutters his hands, “I’m pretty sure Yixuan was ready to lock them in a closet together”

Jiayi blinks. Yibo he knows is Wang Yibo, Wenhan’s former(?) teammate in UNIQ. And he thinks the name Xiao Zhan is familiar but he’s also not entirely certain.

Li Wenhan huffs.

“They met on the drama The Untamed. Yibo was a nuisance for months; constantly calling and rambling about Xiao Zhan nonstop”

That’s news to Jiayi. But he can see it now that he knows who exactly Wenhan was talking about.

He pokes his vegetables around on his plate, letting his thoughts run and bringing the cafeteria volume to a low buzz in his mind.

Why was Wenhan comparing him to Xiao Zhan?

During the first stage, Zhen Nan and Zhan Yu were sent to the same group. Lin Mo had ended up in Namanana with Hu Wenxuan.

That’s when things had gone weird. Wenxuan had started sticking to Lin Mo; seeking out the older trainee and following him around.

That wouldn’t be weird on it’s own, lots of other trainees sought out Lin Mo. He’s older and far more experienced and a skilled dancer.

It’s just that Jiayi has never seen Lin Mo dote on the other trainees the same way he does with Wenxuan. He’s only ever fussed over the other Tyger trainees that way.

He’s pulled back to the present when he catches Hu Wenxuan staring at Lin Mo from where he sits with the Turn Up group. The way the youngest Yuehua trainee watches the Mr. Tyger leader makes Jiayi feel slightly uncomfortable again.

Jiayi gets up, ignoring Wenhan’s amused stare, and finds himself wandering over to Lin Mo’s table, sitting down next to him and resting his chin on the older trainee’s shoulder with a pout.

“Jiayi-ah,” Lin Mo pats his hair without looking up from his lyrics, having only finished half his food, “what is it?”

“I’m tired Mo-ge,” Jiayi says glancing briefly at Hu Wenxuan, who seems annoyed. “It’s been a long week”

Lin Mo tilts his head to try and look at Jiayi. There’s confusion mixed with affection written in his face.

“How’s practice for What’s Wrong going?” Lin Mo asks, shifting so that Jiayi is able to rest more comfortably against him.

Jiayi shrugs.

“I’m glad you have Li Wenhan,” Lin Mo says, an odd expression flickering through his gaze, “you’ve become more open since you met him”

Jiayi glances at his leader.

“Mo-ge, you’ve been spending a lot of time with Wenxuan-ge”

Lin Mo shakes his head.

“He’s a little lost, Jiayi. From the beginning, when Wenhan didn’t pick him for Neighboring Tarzan to now...” Lin Mo shrugs, “I think he feels a little abandoned”

Jiayi frowns slightly.

“Mo-ge...”

“Hm?”

He exhales.

“Never mind”

Lin Mo gives him an odd look, but says nothing more. They stay like that until the Turn Up team leaves the cafeteria.

“Jiayi!” Jiayi looks up to see Wenhan waving at him, “lets go back to practice”

Jiayi glances at Lin Mo one more time before getting up and following Wenhan out.

After that, it seems like every time Jiayi sees Lin Mo, Hu Wenxuan isn’t far behind. It stresses Jiayi enough that he is actively trying to keep them apart, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by Lin Mo.

Jiayi and Lin Mo actually fight about it; Jiayi accusing Lin Mo of forgetting about Mr. Tyger and Lin Mo firing back that Jiayi seems just fine with his new friends.

It leaves Jiayi hurting in a way he didn’t know was possible. Even Zhan Yu isn’t able to cheer him up and ends up the exhausted go-between for the oldest and youngest members of the group who have stopped talking.

The not-so anonymous letter changes things between them. Lin Mo finds Jiayi later that night and Jiayi breaks down, confessing that he doesn’t like the changes and that he’s afraid of being left behind, that he’s afraid Lin Mo will forget about him.

Then they all get sorted into Tinder for their song. Jiayi has a moment of relief that Hu Wenxuan ends up in the other team.

When it comes to internal voting, Jiayi feels conflicted inside. Obviously, he puts himself first then Lin Mo and Zhan Yu. He feels conflicted about Hu Wenxuan and spins his pen around anxiously.

On the one hand, personal feelings shouldn’t come into it. But with Wenxuan in a different song, Jiayi won’t have to worry about him and Lin Mo.

Feeling guilty, he quickly writes Hu Wenxuan’s name down in last place before dropping it in the box.

He returns to the practice room to see Wenxuan with his head in Lin Mo’s lap and Lin Mo looking content and feels a bit less guilty.

When the results are announced, Jiayi feels relieved but still guilty. He doesn’t dislike the youngest Yuehua trainee, he just wishes Wenxuan weren’t so interested in Lin Mo.

Lin Mo, for his part, looks bothered by this development and when Jiayi goes to try and find Lin Mo later on, he finds him in the Maze practice room comforting an upset Hu Wenxuan.

Jiayi watches in the mirror as Lin Mo rubs a hand across Wenxuan’s back comfortingly. Wenxuan has his face buried against Lin Mo’s neck. It feels like all the air has been knocked out of Jiayi’s lungs and he can’t breathe.

When he goes back to his dorm, Guan Yue immediately asks him what’s wrong and all Jiayi can do is shake his head, afraid to voice his feelings.

And then Wenxuan gets eliminated.

Jiayi again feels guilty about feeling so relieved. He watches Lin Mo and Hu Wenxuan hug after the elimination with a sour taste in the back of his throat.

Lin Mo seems slightly lost afterwards. The Tyger leader distancing himself in an odd way. Even Jiayi isn’t able to pull him out of whatever weird mood he’s in.

Zhan Yu is equally confused when Jiayi mentions it to him and chalks it up to the reality of the eliminations and the fact he might not make it to debut sinking in for Lin Mo.

Things only go downhill from there.

Zhan Yu is eliminated and Jiayi feels incredibly off-kilter. The night after Zhan Yu leaves, Jiayi goes to find Lin Mo.

He doesn’t say anything as he presses against Lin Mo’s side. His leader’s arm comes up to wrap around his shoulders and he closes his eyes, burying his face in Lin Mo’s neck and pretending everything is alright just for a moment.

Then the debut lineup is announced.

Lin Mo comes in at 14. Jiayi stares at his leader from his own seat at number 5 and suddenly the distance feels like an ocean.

He doesn’t have a chance to do anything more than hug Lin Mo before the new members of UNINE are swept away by production staff to discuss their future.

Jiayi watches as Hu Wenxuan approaches the older trainee, watches as Lin Mo’s face lights up when he ruffles Wenxuan’s hair, and wonders if he ever stood a chance.

...

Once things settle down with UNINE, Jiayi stays in semi-frequent contact with the other Tygers. This is how he discovers that they’re participating in a Youku show called We Are Young.

When he reads the list of trainees participating, a weight sinks in his gut like molten lava.

_Yuehua - Hu Wenxuan_

“Jiayi, you okay?” He Changxi asks, entering the kitchen where Jiayi is staring at his phone. “What’s up?”

“Oh,” Jiayi says faintly. Xia Hanyu leans against the wall with a concerned frown. “It’s nothing really”

It’s Hu Chunyang who, watching the first episode with Jiayi in support of Hu Wenxuan, enlightens the rest of the group when he innocently points out the familiar faces in the first episode.

Li Wenhan and Guan Yue exchange knowing looks. Xia Hanyu looks exasperated.

Watching Mr. Tyger perform without him causes a longing in Jiayi’s stomach that makes him feel nauseous. He holds his breath as Lin Mo is saved by Cheng Xiao and his heart breaks at the fact that Jin Fan doesn’t make it. He wants to jump in the air when all of Mr. Tyger ends up making it in for their hard work and promises to never complain about Lin Mo’s strict practice regimen again.

Watching Lin Mo and Hu Wenxuan on screen together becomes unbearable and Jiayi tortures himself by looking up behind the scenes and extra footage of them, much to the exasperation of the other members of UNINE.

They don’t seem to end up in any of the same groups, thankfully, which allows Jiayi to focus on Lin Mo.

“What’s up?” Wenhan asks him one day, dropping down next to him and glancing at the laptop screen where Jiayi is watching the eighth episode. “Oh,” he furrows his brows, “you know you’re just upsetting yourself by watching that show right?”

Jiayi shrugs.

“I’m watching it to support Mr. Tyger,” he says. Wenhan gives him a disbelieving look but mercifully says nothing.

“How are they doing?”

“They all made it past the first elimination,” Jiayi thinks back to Qing Chun You Ni when Jin Fan and Zhen Nan were eliminated almost immediately.

Wenhan nods his approval before looking back at his phone, probably messaging Yixuan or one of the other UNINE members to tell them Jiayi is being a masochistic again.

Jiayi is unable to watch the live showing due to schedules, so instead he avoids Weibo and Douban and watches it two days later. He’s proud of his leader, even if he feels bad that Lin Mo wasn’t a higher rank. He also ends up with the too-familiar jealousy over Lin Mo and Hu Wenxuan debuting together like that.

He knows UNINE will disband in a few months and he’ll return to Mr. Tyger. But now Lin Mo won’t be there.

Lin Mo will be promoting with Hu Wenxuan.

The thought feels like a punch to the stomach and he decides he needs to call Jin Fan.

Jin Fan peers at him through the screen like a grandfather before adjusting it and Jiayi relaxes. Jin Fan is the easiest for him to talk to about these things and the best to go to for advice. He’s calm and steady and rarely acts without thinking. He doesn’t usually have much to say so when he does say something serious, it holds a lot of weight. He’s also considerate and the least likely to tease Jiayi about his confused feelings.

“You changed your hair!” Jiayi says. Jin Fan laughs. “I like it!”

“Thanks,” Jin Fan says, resting his phone in front of him, “not that I don’t enjoy talking to you, but this is a little odd”

Jiayi exhales and Jin Fan studies him. The older Tyger doesn’t say anything, letting Jiayi collect his thoughts.

“Mo-ge debuted,” Jiayi finally says. Something like understanding flashes across Jin Fan’s handsome features. “How long will they be promoting?”

Jin Fan shrugs.

“They didn’t say,” he tilts his head. Jiayi chews his lip and Jin Fan sighs. “All of us know, didi,” he says in his accented mandarin, “you should tell him”

“Is this about Lin Mo?” a new voice joins in. Zhan Yu’s nostrils make an appearance, followed by the boy himself as he stretches casually across Jin Fan, resting his chin on the Cantonese boy’s shoulder. Jiayi perks up at the display of affection and begins to wonder about the older Tyger members. “Is Jiayi finally gonna admit his feelings for our fearless leader?”

Jiayi flushes and it must be obvious because Zhan Yu laughs and Jin Fan looks like he’s fighting back a smile.

“Oh is that Jiayi?” Zhen Nan joins the pile of bodies. “Jiayi-ah, how’s it going?”

“Jiayi is finally going to tell Lin Mo how he feels,” Zhan Yu laughs.

Zhen Nan looks surprised before mock-groaning.

“When everyone comes back, I won’t even be a third wheel...I’ll be a spare tire!”

Zhan Yu and Jin Fan burst out laughing and Jiayi is struck with a homesickness and longing for his old group.

The spare tire comment sits in his head funny and he wonders what he’s missed when Zhen Nan’s voice breaks through his thoughts.

“Seriously though, we all know Lin Mo will try some obnoxiously noble spiel about how you’re too young, or how he’s the leader and it wouldn’t be right. When he says that, you need to tell him I said he’s being ridiculous and should actually go for what he wants for once in his life rather than sitting back and missing things!”

“For once Kiki and I agree on something,” Zhan Yu says, earning a shove from Zhen Nan. “Hey!”

Jin Fan raises an eyebrow and wiggles out from beneath the other two as they begin a wrestling-shoving match. Jiayi watches as the older male leaves the room and goes into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

“Xiao Xin,” Jin Fan’s soothing voice crackles through the speaker. “The best thing you can do is tell him. It’s about time too”

“A-Hao,” Jiayi says, “what did AK mean about being a spare tire?” Jin Fan’s flush piques Jiayi’s interest.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Jin Fan shakes his head, “how about this; you tell Lin Mo how you feel and I’ll tell you what AK meant”

Jiayi pouts.

There’s a sudden knocking on the bathroom door that startles Jin Fan.

“I should probably go before the other two break down the door,” he says in amusement. “I know you can do it Xiao Xin. Jiayou!”

“Thanks A-Hao,” Jiayi says, feeling more settled. “I miss you guys”

Jin Fan smiles, gently and sincerely.

“Miss you too Xiao Xin. Come visit when you have time”

“I promise!” Jiayi grins.

Jin Fan hangs up the call and Jiayi leans back, thoughts circling in his head.

Both A-Hao and Wenhan-ge had told him pretty much the same things. Even AK and Zhan Yu had said as much.

Their confidence boosted Jiayi’s confidence and he scrambles to put on his shoes.

He shoots a text to the UNINE group chat and amongst the unanimous support, it turns out that Hu Chunyang knew where the SKY dorms are.

Armed with confidence and the location of his target, he leaves.

It’s only when he’s halfway there that he has no idea whether Lin Mo will actually be in the dorms.

He pulls out his phone and video calls the Mr. Tyger leader.

Lin Mo picks up after the second ring, his handsome face filling the screen.

“Momo?”

“Jiayi!” Lin Mo smiles at him through the screen and Jiayi feels his heart melt. “Jiayi how are you?”

“I miss you!” Jiayi waves, “I have some time off from schedules and I decided to come visit you if you’re around!”

“Visit?” Lin Mo furrows his brows, “wha-you’re here?”

“Yup! Walking in!”

The door opens and Lin Mo stands there wearing a large sweater and jeans. His hair is messy and he’s not wearing any makeup and he looks ridiculously soft.

Jiayi has the urge to hug the older boy and he does. Lin Mo returns the hug.

“What are you doing here?” Lin Mo asks, clearly amused.

“I wanted to see you,” Jiayi tells him, “Yangyang told me where your guys’ dorm is and I was around so I figured I’d try my luck and see if you were here,” he eyes the SKY dorms. They’re really nice, almost as nice as UNINE dorms.

He wonders who Lin Mo shares a room with and the thought that it’s Hu Wenxuan makes his stomach churn.

“Honestly, Mo-ge,” Jiayi picks at the skin around his fingernails, “I actually came because I needed to tell you something...”

“What did you need to tell me?” Lin Mo furrows his brows in confusion, “are you okay?”

Jiayi fidgets as he tries to corral his thoughts. Lin Mo’s expression grows concerned and the older boy reaches out. Unable to use words, Jiayi leans in and kisses Lin Mo.

The Mr. Tyger leader doesn’t respond and Jiayi pulls back, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Regret flickers across Lin Mo’s face and he gently runs his fingers through Jiayi’s hair.

“Jiayi, you’re confused,” Lin Mo says in a strained voice, “you don’t really feel this way...”

“I do! I...it took me awhile to figure it out,” Jiayi confesses, “I didn’t like the way you and Wenxuan talked to each other. At first I thought it was because it was weird seeing you fuss over others outside of Mr. Tyger. But then talking to Han-ge and A-Hao made me realize it was more than that”

Confusion flits across Lin Mo’s face.

“But...you and Wenhan?”

Jiayi crinkles his nose, “he’s had a thing with someone from UNIQ for awhile...Zhou Yixuan I think? The guy who came to the finale of Qing Chun You Ni for him. Yangyang said I was denser than Shenshen when it came to feelings and that it took Xixi actually kissing Shenshen to make him realize how he felt. Yue-ge says he’s tired of me pining over you and that I should just do something about it so they sent me here”

Lin Mo’s eyes widen at Jiayi’s sudden anxious babble and he exhales sharply.

“Jiayi...”

“I know it’s probably not fair to Wenxuan,” Jiayi continues bitterly, “I’ve seen how the two of you interact with each other, but if I didn’t say anything I’d go crazy. I’m happy you debuted with SKY, I’m just worried you’ll forget about me...” saying the words made Jiayi realize the truth. 

“Jiayi, we’ve known each other how many years?” Lin Mo says softly, “I could never forget about you”

“But you don’t like me like that. Like I like you”

Lin Mo combs his fingers through Jiayi’s hair thoughtfully.

“It’s not that I don’t...” Jiayi perks up, “it’s that it’s troublesome. SKY isn’t forever. UNINE isn’t forever. You and I will be back with the rest of Mr. Tyger before long. As the leader, I have certain responsibilities-”

“A-Key said you would say that!” Jiayi shoots up, feeling giddy, “he also said that you would be ridiculous about it and that you should just go for it. The others agreed with him! A-Hao said it was about time and-”

Lin Mo leans in and shuts Jiayi up with his mouth. Jiayi closes his eyes and leans into the kiss, feeling his heart race and his cheeks heat up.

Jiayi’s kiss was clumsy and inexperienced and nothing more than a mashing of lips to get his point across; Lin Mo’s kiss is different and Jiayi lets Lin Mo guide him.

Jiayi is a couple centimeters taller than Lin Mo, but not enough to make a difference between them.

Eventually they pull apart and Jiayi blinks at Lin Mo.

“But...Wenxuan-ge?”

“No,” Lin Mo shakes his head, “for awhile, there might have been something. But we decided it wouldn’t work out. Besides, he’s much better off with Li Xikan”

Jiayi feels a burst of happiness in his chest as he snuggles closer to his former leader. Lin Mo wraps his arms around Jiayi and brushes a kiss against his temple.

“I really like you Momo,” Jiayi says, “I’m really happy”

Lin Mo’s answering smile is soft.

They end up sitting on the couch to watch a movie; Jiayi is curled up against Lin Mo with his head resting against the latter’s shoulder and Lin Mo’s hand is gently combing through Jiayi’s hair.

Jiayi is too distracted to pay attention to the movie. He keeps flicking glances at Lin Mo.

“Ge,” he tugs Lin Mo’s shirt.

“Hm?” Lin Mo glances at him.

He shifts into Lin Mo’s lap and pouts down at him. “Kiss me”

Lin Mo laughs, eyes scrunching up in the adorable way he has as he draws Jiayi down into a soft kiss.

Suddenly, the door opens and Hu Wenxuan and Li Xikan enter hand-in-hand. They stop at the pair on the couch.

Li Xikan raises an eyebrow, but shrugs before disappearing into his room.

“Took long enough,” Wenxuan mutters, following him.

Jiayi looks at Lin Mo in surprise. Lin Mo shrugs.

“That’s why we never worked out,” Lin Mo, traces along Jiayi’s face, “I couldn’t get over you”

Jiayi feels warm at Lin Mo’s words and he kisses him again.

Eventually, Jiayi has to leave even though he doesn’t want to. If he could, he would happily stay with Lin Mo overnight.

“You won’t forget me, right?” Jiayi worries as Lin Mo walks him out of the dorm. Lin Mo’s laugh is warm.

“No, Jiayi, I won’t forget you. Once SKY disbands, I’ll be back with you and the rest of Mr. Tyger. Thanks to UNINE and SKY, hopefully Mr. Tyger will become more popular”

Jiayi nods.

Lin Mo’s expression is soft as he cups Jiayi’s face.

“We’ll be back together before you know it,” Lin Mo kisses him gently.

“Not soon enough,” Jiayi pouts. Lin Mo laughs. 

“Not soon enough,” the leader agrees.

**Author's Note:**

> idk i always felt like wenhan never liked wenxuan that much


End file.
